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Halloween Monday October 31

Where to start, where to start. What a weekend. Halloween in Japan gets my stamp of approval.

Friday was a great day. It was the last day of the first quarter of my program, and it also marked two months of me living in Japan. My, how the time goes quick. At the same time, when I look at everything I've done, seen, and thought since coming here, it seems about right that it all fits in eight weeks.

I pulled a 95% on my written test from Thursday, and my Friday oral exam went well. Things at school have been progressing. I've started reading an introductory work on cultural anthropology -- in Japanese. Sure, there are plenty of sentences I have trouble with, but it's a topic that fascinates me, so I figure this is best way to do it: dive in.

I went up to Tokyo to see Michael straight from school. Unfortunately, he was busy at work as ever, so I showed Juan how to do some things on Photoshop that she needs for her business, and we all had nabe (なべ) when Mike got home. Nabe is essentially a huge pot of soup that you put in the middle of the table; everyone pulls stuff out and eats. When it gets cold, it's perfect. Unfortunately, I ate so much that I conked out on the couch early and that was that.

Saturday was Joanna's (one of my classmates) Halloween party. It was supposed to be a costume party, but I didn't have a good costume, so I improvised. I have a jacket that's Top Gun-esque, and in Japan, I am regularly told that I look like Mr. Cruise. As such, I used Photoshop to print a "Hello, My Name Is" nametag that was labeled "Tom Cruise".

The party went on all night, but trains in Japan stop running around midnight or twelve-thirty. Everyone migrated to a bar/cafe at about 1am; we stayed there until 4am, whereat Sarah and I decided we needed Yoshinoya, and badly. We had to make it until 5:15am, because that's when the first train comes. Yoshinoya, for those of you who either don't know, or don't remember, is one of the 24-hour beef bowl restaurants that are, well, everywhere, in Japan. When there's nowhere else to go but home, go to Yoshinoya. In the end, it was a moot point; I had received clearance to crash at the apartment of the host; they have a lot of extra futons. Still crazy, nonetheless. I put the Tom Cruise nametag on the inside of my wallet; I intend on keeping it there until it wears away to nothing.

Sunday morning we all (8 people) went to Denny's for breakfast. Denny's in Japan is a classy joint -- meals are a little more expensive than the States, but the service isn't terrible, the food is great, and it's clean. It's actually not even Denny's; really. You can't get a Grand Slam... or Moons over My Hammy.

Sunday evening I met my friend Kumiko and her two friends, Shin-ya and Jun, at Motomachi for another Halloween party. This time, no one was costumed, but there was talk of going to Donki and buying some quick. For those of you that have been following the saga from the beginning, you'll remember that Donki is the Spencer's Gifts of Japan that is three floors, and also is a half-supermarket, half-Best Buy.

The place we ended up at was expensive (25 bucks, yikes), but there was live jazz show, plenty of scantily-clad women, and an all-you-can-eat curry buffet. Much better curry, too, than other all-you-can-eat curry buffets that I've done. Anyway, this is the price I have to pay to hang out with Japanese people, and it was five straight hours of conversation practice. I can't complain about that. I learned a lot of good new words, and more importantly, I have made new friends.

That thing ended at 9pm, so we went to another place to meet up with two Center students who just happened to be in the area. Yet, one of them, and I will be good and not mention names, has a penchant for talking to Japanese girls. That's totally fine -- I'm not criticizing his choice for how he spends his time. It's not for me, and that's all right. However, there's a verb in Japanese called shirakeru (しらける), and it means, basically, to "throw a wet blanket on an otherwise-fun time". That's exactly what happened.

I've mentioned Kumiko to some of the Center students. I will put it like this to the home audience: she is the Japanese version of Naomi. Period. Certainly, their personalities are different; they act differently. Yet, the way that we work together is essentially a copy of Naomi and I's interaction: goofy, outgoing, and always having fun.

So, this guy, who knows that I've made friends outside of school, asks me right in front of her face if "this is my girl". The way he said it makes me shudder. "Hey, welcome to Japan, did you pick up your girl yet? If you need one, well, I've got like six over here... I'll let you borrow one." That kind of creepy feeling. Sure, he didn't say that, but you know.

It was one of the slimiest things that's been said to me in a long time. We ignored the comment and tried to recover the conversation, but it was hella awkward for about 10 seconds. We proceed to watch this guy talk to about 4-5 different girls all night long, and then spill a drink all over one of them. In the end, I was happy: I'd never had an opportunity to use the word shirakeru before, and I know I won't forget it now. Anyway. That was just a small part of the evening, really. It just bugs me, that's all.

I was talking with Bridget online today about a related topic: in college, when you like someone of the opposite sex, things progress quickly -- often too quickly -- because you're living in this weird psuedo-real-world called 'college'. You have all the freedom to do whatever, but none of the wisdom to realize what you should and shouldn't be doing, and on what schedule. This isn't necessarily bad; we all have to learn some time. Yet, now, for me, it's different.

I meet girls all the time, both in the States and here. I like spending time with some of them; I would call them friends. That doesn't mean, "oooOOOooh, I like you", or anything like that. It may or may not mean I'm attracted to them. But as I get older, all these interactions are getting more serious. If there is mutual attraction, even if it's thick enough to cut with a knife, it's just not good enough.

If I'm going to be anything more than friends with someone, it's going to take an emotional investment, and until I feel that strongly about someone, I'm totally content with just being friends. In a time where I'm trying to build a new support system, friends are the best. That's new for me, and I love it. I knew that coming here would have larger effects than just improving my Japanese, and that's part of the reason I knew it was time to leave Champaign. You've got to go there to come back.

So, anyway: the weekend was a blast; I caught the last train home last night and made up for the sleep that I missed the night before by sleeping in this morning, the first day of my fall vacation. Tomorrow I might go to Kamakura (where the big Buddha is) with some Center friends, but plans haven't been made yet.

Weekend Sundries Thursday October 27

(Ed. note: This was written six days before this post, but was not posted for lack of an Internet connection.)

I made Ma Po Tofu tonight for the first time (#42 at the China Palace in both Rockton and Roscoe, for those who are in the know); it worked out well. I received the package from home with all of my winter clothes. Said package also included two lamps and my MP3 player AC adapter. Last, but not least, were two unopened bottles of Sirracha hot sauce. I went to the store, got a light bulb, and installed my favorite lamp; it works well.

However, what has not worked out well tonight was following a classmate's recommendation and watching a particular drama on TBS (not affiliated with the American TBS) at ten o'clock.

In fact, I want the last forty-five minutes of my life back. I think I'm going to bill my time out to the person who recommended it. I should have known better when she said it was "based on a manga". And I could have been reading the cultural anthropology book I just borrowed from the IUC library... this is why televisions are bad, and I wouldn't even have one if I wasn't trying to learn a new language.

Occasionally, we are assigned to watch the news as homework; we have to report on what we learned. I cried "foul" at first because I didn't have a TV, and didn't feel like I should be required to buy one simply because I needed it for a three-minute assignment twice a week. I eventually caved when I saw the $45 used TV (with free delivery) at the shop where I bought my table.

Random: Japanese light bulbs use about one-fifth of the energy of their American counterparts. The sockets are the same, but unlike the States, where 90% of the market is dominated by "regular" bulbs, Japan only has fluorescent bulbs (or at least, the supermarket only carried fluorescent bulbs). I have learned the hard way, though, that my 8-watt "40-watt" light bulb is not strong enough for reading. Good for the ambient feel, bad for the eyes.

Tomorrow's agenda includes: another light bulb (this time we'll try the 12-watt "60-watt"), an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet birthday celebration at Shakey's Pizza (yes, the same Shakey's Pizzas that dot the southern Wisconsin landscape), making okonomiyaki for the first time, and listening to the music on my MP3 player (now that I have the AC adapter for it, at last).

Warning: the following paragraphs are all nerd, and it's pretty much for personal notation. Read at your own risk. Normal readers may stop here safely.

I also installed IIS, PHP, MySQL, and phpMyAdmin on my laptop. Now, I can do development work without an Internet connection. I've started using PHP 5.0; I'm enjoying the extended OOP functionality (er, maybe, "complete", considering that C++ had thisfunctionality a decade ago). The first thing I wrote was an application framework for new projects I design.

I've noted a few major limitations in the User Request » Function » Page Output design that I had been using (with large 'switch' statements). First of all, each execution could only execute one function, and each execution could only display one page. Nine times out of ten, you can get by with this. However, I want to stop thinking in this way: I want to take a modular approach to everything I design.

The more modules I write, the faster the next program will be developed; by abstracting the modules into basic class functions, I can essentially extend the functionality of PHP to meet my own uses. Before I had helper functions, certainly, but not to the extent I am now envisioning. Also, the new framework should help reduce debug time significantly, and it should help reduce versioning inconsistencies.

Okonomiyaki Tuesday October 25

It doesn't look very appetizing at first.
Try it, then you'll crave it.

A few weeks ago I created the Food and Drink category on this site. However, after some thought, I've decided to create another subcategory called Recipes. Eventually, I'll put a link up top so you can access all of my recipes at once in a list format. I now have three recipes, and at the rate I've been going during October, I'd be willing to bet there will be many more soon to come.

Today we're making okonomiyaki. It's a Japanese favorite for just about everyone, and it's very fast and easy to make. The name is slightly amusing: "konomu"　（好む) means "to like", and "yaku" （焼く） means "to fry". Thus, this food is literally "cooking up some stuff you like".

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package frozen seafood¹
• Japanese mayonnaise† (optional)
• Tonkatsu sauce‡ (Bulldog brand) (optional)

Directions

1. Remove the heart of the cabbage head with a knife and wash the head thoroughly in a colander. Remove any outside leaves that are "flimsy" or turning brown. Carefully remove 4-5 outer leaves.
2. Fold the cabbage leaves inside one another as if you're wrapping up a square-shaped 3" by 3" present. Then, holding down on the top of the "present" you've just wrapped, chop the cabbage into 1/4" thin strips with a kitchen knife. Set aside.
3. Add 1 cup of flour to a mixing bowl. Add water a half-cup at a time while mixing; you are done when the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter.
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and the 2 eggs and mix again. The consistency should remain similar. If you are unsure, add a little water. Too thin is not as bad as too thick.
5. Mix in the sugar and salt.
6. Add the cabbage to the mixing bowl and stir. There should be enough batter to coat the cabbage, but not so much as to seem like a cake batter.
7. Add your preferred ingredient(s)¹.
8. Apply medium heat to a fry pan with a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. After the oil has heated a little, use a slotted spoon to spoon some of the cabbage mixture into the pan. Be careful, as the oil may spatter.
9. The edges should firm up as if you were frying a pancake. Okonomiyaki shouldn't be too thick, so use the back edge of the spoon to spread it out a little if you have to. Keep in mind that you have to flip this, though, and if you spread it too much you're asking for trouble.
10. After a minute or so, flip. The side that cooked first has more batter by nature of gravity, and we'll go back and cook it again later. We want to "sear" both sides quickly as not to let too much batter get on one side in liquid form.
11. When the pancake is browning on both sides, serve.
12. Repeat until there is no more mixture. If you have excess batter, you can chop more cabbage, of course. Leftover okonomiyaki can be easily reheated, so don't worry about making too much.

Serving

Okonomiyaki should be served with Japanese mayonnaise and Tonkatsu sauce. What people usually do is drizzle a bit of each on top of the pancake, mix around with their knife, and then dig in. This is definitely a fork-and-knife food.

With the proportions I've suggested above, this should make about 3-4 pancakes and feed 3 people. Also, the cake will soak up some oil from the pan, so you may have to add more oil. Due to the oil, egg, flour, and cabbage, this is definitely a heavier dish, and I recommend serving it with iced tea to combat that. If you make it, and it's good, great. Just don't eat too much too quick: it definitely settles in and makes you full.

Notes

¹ Traditionally, people put squid and octopus in okonomiyaki. It's delicious, and that's the way I make it. However, considering the cost, availability, and palatial unfamiliarity of these ingredients in the United States, I recommend baby shrimp. If you're up for the squid and octopus adventure, look for a frozen seafood mixture at an Asian supermarket. If you make this recipe once and like it, go ahead and get creative: other than cabbage, it's your recipe.

† Japanese mayonnaise is sweeter than American mayonnaise, and if you slap Miracle Whip or Hellmann's on, I can almost guarantee the only thing eating your recipe will be the dog or the trash can. What you want is called "Kewpie" (pronounced 'Kyuu-pee') mayonnaise, and you can find it at any Asian supermarket. It comes in a squeeze plastic container.

‡ Tonkatsu sauce is like A1 Steak Sauce. I think oyster sauce, A1, or Tonkatsu would all be good. Tonkatsu sauce is what they use here, and if you buy some, I recommend the Bulldog brand. You'll definitely use it for other things too; it's a great goes-on-meat sauce. You can find it at Asian supermarkets and possibly, international aisles at supermarkets.

また始めます Sunday October 23

二、三年前、勉強するために日本語のブログを始めたけど、あまり更新しなかった。時間がかかったし、大学生時代にいつも仲間と遊んでたし、大切にしなかった。そして結局やめちゃった。今日、偶然に一月の日本語で書いたのを読んでびっくりした。進歩が見える。でもさ、進歩はそういう風に面白い。進歩している間、全く感じられない。もっと高いレバルが出来たたびに、もっと難しいチャレンジが来る。だから、全然簡単にならなくて進歩見えないわけだ。

さて、横浜は住みやすい都市で、好き。やっぱり、都市としてチャンぺーンより高いけど、大体出来てる。　でも、地下鉄は目立って高い。定期券があっても一ヶ月は一万円かかる。信じられない。それで、毎日、自転車で往復の１４ｋｍぐらい通ってる。体に健康的にいいけど、寒くなるとどうかなと思ってる。おととい、母送ってくれた小包が来てジャケット何枚も届いた。問題ないかも？イリノイより、横浜暖かそうだから。

ジャケット以外、小包に母は大好きなすごく辛い「sriracha」というタイソースを入れてくれた。まずい食べ物を作っても、このソースを足すとおいしくなるよ。

Kuihoudai

It amuses me to no end that they have Shakey's Pizza in Japan. There's a Shakey's Pizza in Janesville, Wisconsin, and I hadn't seen one since I ate there at around age thirteen. Yet, right outside the southwest exit of Yokohama station, there it is.

What's more, they have an all-you-can-eat deal for lunch (in Japanese, this is called tabe-houdai [食べ放題], hence the title of this post). For a mere $9, all the pizza, pasta, and salad you can eat. In Japan, that's not that bad. What's more, it was Tommy's birthday (one of my classmates) yesterday, so we had ample reason to celebrate. In total, seven men gathered outside Yokohama station this morning at 11:30, and proceeded to take the place by storm.

To me, eating essentially two whole thin-crust pizzas (and thus satisfying a month-long urge for likely the next few months) is not worthy enough for a post. What is notable is that it's the first time I've spent time with the guys in my program with no women around.

Among the classmates, there are already a few minor group formations. First, I should note these group participations are not mutually exclusive (cross-reference, say, high school groups), nor is association with one group a requirement for belonging to a larger class (namely, the whole group of 31). These affiliations don't seem to stifle social interaction between participants of different groups, and thus, I don't concern myself with worrying about their consequences. Suffice it to say that there is a strong enough of an association for me to make the following assertions about control elements.

Today's group was very similar to one of the usual formations. Yet, almost as if in a controlled experiment, the females had been removed. For some reason, scarfing down thousands of calories in greasy pizza didn't appeal to them. Nonetheless.

The truth is that what guys talk about when women are around is different than what guys talk about when they aren't. I don't mean dirty things, although a few of those came up in the course of events. The reason that the conversation patterns are different is because the behavior patterns are different, not because there's a great urge to discuss matters that are otherwise taboo with women present.

There was no female referee to judge our behaviors or to keep score on who had the best witty remarks, so it was as if everyone had their game turned off. Certainly, no one acted radically different, but I am viewing the situation holistically. It's not about what I said or what someone else said at one point that was unusual; it was the general flow between everyone. I want to stress that this does not seem to be a conscious matter.

People often put out game when they're not thinking about it: Naomi has called me out on this behavior. It's a questionably, yet plausibly, subconscious reaction to the presence of a seemingly available member of your preferred gender with whom your status is undefined.

For those who know me, I will simple echo Naomi to say that when girls are around, whether I know it or not, I occasionally slip into the "radio voice". It's smoother, it carries more confidence, and it backreferences one of the cooler jobs I've held. My subconscious selection of this mode indicates that I feel these characteristics will be perceived as desirable, and thus make me as a whole desirable. In short, they are a small part of the human version of plumage. Nature's biological competition.

(Hrm, sometime I'll have to write an essay tying biological competition to the supposed success of capitalism as a stabilizing force using only my own ideas and ability to make up things that sound right.)

Anyway, it's fascinating stuff to me, at least. I'm sure if any of the other six present today read this, they might think I'm thinking about it too much. Unlike the person I used to be, say, in high school -- I try now not to overthink matters as they pertain to me. Rather, I try to refocus that energy on fitting the circumstances into the generic components of life that have already been defined in either (a) common terms most everyone understands, or (b) scholastic terms of a particular field.

Extrapolation is one of the best ways to learn, and it is one of the uniquities of the brain as a processing device.

Coconut Evilness Tuesday October 18

The nemesis of my otherwise-healthy dietIn Japan as well, there are "everything is a dollar" stores. While the cost theme is the same as the States, these stores have decent produce, meat, tofu, eggs, bread, and other perishables that I consume on a regular basis. There are two such stores on my ride home, so I only buy food right before I am going to eat it. This helps me cut back on food waste (cooking for one person is hard, using up a perishable ingredient before it goes bad is even harder).

What this means, though, is that I go to the store two to three times a week. The store personnel, knowing that I frequent the store, and knowing that I have a sweet tooth, have purposefully placed these coconut biscuits right by the register. I first purchased them in preparation for my Thai curry party a few weeks ago, where they were a large after-dinner success.

The store employees know that I know it's only ¥104 (with tax) for 28 delicious coconut wafers, and they know that I'll tell myself I will "just have a few today and eat them throughout the week". On the other hand, my dinner tonight only cost me ¥104, or about 85 cents.

What's Shaking Monday October 17

My apartment is almost at the top of a hill, and it's not a particularly strong edifice. I wouldn't say that it's weak, but it's not quite the double-bricked construction that Grandma's house is. Anyway, when the kid that lives next door bounds up the outside stairs, my balcony rail shakes a little. When a strong wind blows, my floor seems to vibrate.

This fueled my previous misconceptions about earthquakes. I was under the impression that earthquakes occurred more frequently than they actually do. Since my apartment was shaking a little about once a week, I had assumed that these instances might be tiny earthquakes. When I didn't see anything on the news, though, I figured that I was probably incorrect. Michael later confirmed this for me.

Today, however, while doing computer work at my desk, my floor started to shake a little like it usually does, but then got stronger. I do know that the kid next door isn't that overweight. It had to be an earthquake.

True to what I've heard, it lasted about 15 seconds, and everything just, uhm, shook. I knew I'd probably get to experience an earthquake here, but I'm actually very glad that it happened the way it did. I made the determination quickly that it wasn't a serious quake, and thus I didn't need to seek cover. I stood up and watched out my balcony. It definitely had an awing effect: I just stood there thinking how strange the feeling was.

Later, I turned on the TV to see that it was a 5.1 magnitude quake, which is not enough to cause any real problems. Now that I've experienced that, though, there's no reason to stand in awe next time: especially if it's a more serious affair. I'll head under a doorway, or outside.

Spoon Tuesday October 11

I can finally say this in a public forum, as it's surely been announced. Spoon will be playing Foellinger at the end of October. I wish I could go. Laurel was kind enough to copy their most recent CD for me, and I plan on buying it now. It's called "Gimme Fiction", and the album is, undoubtably, my fall anthem. Done and done. Get it. Now.

If all goes well, Natalie will record the show for me. I left the microphones for that reason.

Stamina ramen Saturday October 8

When I was living with Riho, there was a ramen shop where I ate three times in the same week. It was that good. The first time, I ordered nori ramen (seaweed ramen). Even though I could read most of the menu, I could not figure out what everything was. Like English, pronouncing a word and knowing its meaning are only partialy related. I knew what nori was, so I went with it.

In a Japanese ramen shop, you can usually see the cooks working. The old man that ran the place was cooking up something that looked like Mongolian beef. "Not ramen, but looks good," I thought. Then, the assembly cook got out a ramen bowl, added broth, noodles, and a few veggies and set it next to the old man. He dumped the Mongolian beef-like dish into the ramen.

This dish was delivered to the table behind me, so I got a better look. I then asked the waitress what that customer had ordered. Apparently, it's called "Stamina Ramen". Supposedly, it gives you plenty of energy (read: caloric intake). I ordered it the next time; it was as delicious as it looked.

Last night, I had a hankering for ramen, but I didn't want to eat out. So I got creative, and I am now proud to present Mark's Stamina Ramen. This recipe should serve two.

Ingredients

• 200g thin-sliced (shaved) pork†
• 1 package of soba (buckwheat) noodles
• 1 or 2 consomme boullion cubes‡
• 1-2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 head of nappa (chinese cabbage)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 3 tbl canola oil
• 4 tbl Kikkoman soy sauce¹
• 3 tsp sugar

Preparation

1. Boil enough water to cook the noodles, and then add them. If you use soba, there will be a "scum" that collects at the top of the water. Use a ladle to remove as much of this as you can. Cook the noodles until they are al dente. Don't overcook them; they are going to absorb a bit more water in the soup. Strain the noodles, and run water through them to keep them from sticking together. Set the noodles aside.
2. Prepare the scallions. Properly wash them, remove any of that slimy film-skin around the bottom if any has developed, and chop them. Make sure to use "both parts" of the scallion: down by the base and up at the top. You'll probably use about three "stalks". Set aside. Then slice the yellow onion in half, and then slice the halves into thirds. Depending on its size, you may not need the entire onion. Use your own discretion.
3. Chop the nappa until you have about 2 cups of it. It's not a science, people. It's an art. Use your judgement.
4. Mince the garlic. First, peel away all of the non-edible skin. By applying pressure to the flat surface of a kitchen knife, smash the garlic against the cutting board until it "pops". Then, cut it into small bits. (Shoutout to Todd for teaching me that trick.)
5. Fill a pot with about 1L of water for the broth. Check the boullion container for exact proportions, but it's usually about 1 cube per 500mL. Bring the water to a simmer, not a boil. Whenever that occurs, add the boullion cube(s). If you can't measure 1L, pour 30 ounces. Use a 20-ounce container (a plastic Diet Coke bottle, et al); that should work. Proceed to the next step.
6. Combine garlic, sliced yellow onion, pork, oil, and soy sauce in a fry pan. When you add the onion, separate it so it cooks evenly. Bring to a sautee, and be careful not to scorch the onions. When the pork is beginning to cook, add the sugar slowly so it dissolves evenly. You may need to add a tablespoon of water here and there to keep the sautee from becoming too solid.
7. When you're done cooking the meat, add the scallions and nappa. Mix them around thoroughly. Taste-test the onions: they should be soft, but still hold some texture. If onions could be al dente, then yes, you'd want them al-dente.
8. Turn off the gas, or remove the sautee from the surface (electric stove). Make sure that the boullion cubes have fully dissolved.
9. Split the ingredients among two ramen bowls. First, put a handful of the strained noodles into each, ladle the broth, and then add the sautee. Stir, and serve.

Notes

† In Japan, you can find this kind of pork everywhere. It is essentially small slices of pork that are just a bit thicker than processed sandwich meat. If you can't find it at the store, just buy some pork and cut it yourself; it shouldn't be that hard. I just wrote "200g" because I needed some sort of measure to make this look like a legitimate recipe. Do what I did: use as much as "looks right".

‡ If you don't know what consomme is, or can't find it, just use a beef or chicken boullion cube. And then take some French.

¹ If you think that you can use La Choy and get away with it, we're not friends anymore. It MUST be Kikkoman. You should be using Kikkoman for all your cooking anyway, so just go bite the bullet and buy some.

You can't have a good dish without good ingredients. I make a stink about the soy sauce because truly, there is a difference. Next time you need soy sauce, don't buy the Wisconsin-brewed Kikkoman; check the international aisle of the supermarket, or go to an Asian market and buy imported soy sauce. Even if you can't read Japanese, you'll be able to recognize it because it'll be a Kikkoman label, and it'll look just like the American version. It should have four characters (しょうゆ) on the front. Ask if you can't find it. It's not that much more expensive.

You can use whatever oil you'd like. Avoiding olive or peanut; lighter oils work better for soups. Canola or sunflower will both work, I used canola.

You'll probably need to look in the international aisle of the supermarket for soba noodles. They are brown noodles, and look a little "unrefined". Instead of coming in horizontal, long packages like spaghetti, they come in tall packages that contain 3-4 bundles of noodles. I recommend using one or two of these bundles; that should be enough. If they don't have them there, they will definitely have them at an Asian market.

If you try this recipe, use your head. I guessed the proportion numbers, as I never measure when I cook. Do what tastes good. And by all means, offer feedback, or let me know where the directions weren't clear.

Iida Tuesday October 4

This weekend I went to Iida to see Naomi. I saw Naomi, but it ended up being a lot more than that. Everyone in Naomi's family save her mother seemed to think at first that I was her boyfriend. After the first dinner, I cleared all that up; I also cleared up the fact that I could hold my own in Japanese, and that talking about whether or not I was Naomi's boyfriend in front of me was probably not a good idea.

I say that it "ended up being a lot more than that". What I mean is that the reason Naomi herself went to Iida all the way from LA is that her grandfather died two years ago, and it was time for the yearly ceremony to remember him. In the Buddhist tradition, it's called a houji. I had figured that I would simply walk around the town and explore during those times as not to get in the way, but after I arrived I quickly discovered that I was to be included in the ceremony.

I think this is because everyone thought that I was Naomi's boyfriend. Regardless, in the end, it all worked out. Those of you who may know Naomi probably can understand why some think that we date; we are close, and we have been for almost five years. In Japan, moreso than in the States, it's not as common for a guy to have such close female friends he is not dating.

Anyway, I could go into detail about what the houji was like, but I think that it's better left unsaid unless someone is specifically curious. What I was looking at -- from the anthropological standpoint -- is not what the ceremony was, but why it was important to these people. How can I connect these needs and wants to the needs and wants of people I know well, Americans?

How can I start to understand the world as a whole unit that is full of people who just happen to live in different places with the same needs, and thus have different methods of attaining those needs?

That is ultimately what I seek to understand, and that is a large reason I am interested in Japan. It is a strange mixture of the East and the West, and at the same time, often unique. By observing how people in these circumstances create, desire, and fulfill their own needs, I can hopefully better understand how people, in general, do the same.

It was great to see Naomi, but admittedly strange to put one of my close friends in the middle of a Japanese family. Something I had never really thought of...